Let's Talk about ME!

About a month before we came to Taiwan, I began a journey to creating a healthier and stronger me! Prior to this, I had tried dozens of times to reshape my body and retrain my eating habits. Each time, the "project" of dieting and exercise lasted no more than 2-3 weeks. This time, to set myself up to win I did two things: I shared with my hubby and kids about my intention to get healthy, which included reducing my 230+ cholesterol level, and I enrolled the support of a good friend who owns a Spin studio in South Pasadena.

Though I was a bit hesitant to declare a weight or a BMI goal, the shared vision in my training became creating a "long & lean" physique.  Spinning 2-3 times each week at The Cycle Annex and working out with Brandon on the ass-kicking TRX system, my body started to transform. Clothes fit a little looser, and my body felt a little tighter. Johnny (my hubby) looks a little longer, and heads turned a bit more often. THREE WEEKS!!

Although the training at the Annex has been postponed since my month in Taiwan, the discipline and coaching continues. The challenge set forth of finding a gym was done with urgency and the commitment to doing at least an hour of cardio 5 times a week became my personal goal. A week into my trip in Taiwan, I felt so strong that I declared to run a half marathon in October. Running a full marathon has always been something in my bucket list which now I intend to cross off by mid-2013!

Mother's Day 2012

July 9, 2012

Today!

Since setting my sights on the Rock n Roll Half Marathon, my training has shifted to running 3 miles 4 times a week, and 5 miles one day a week.  I giggle every time I run on the treadmill thinking just how resistant I was in the past to running. I laugh nervously when I complete my miles at the thought of the rigorous training that awaits me back in South Pas when I return to LA. While my trainer coaches me to not step on the scale too often, I sigh in relief that although muscle weighs more than fat, I am only a couple of pounds shy of my pre-preggy weight!! Yes!!!

Most of all I celebrate the possibility of being a stronger, sexier, and a more stellar woman. I beam at the knowledge that my sons see my hard work and share in seeing my hard work yield direct results.

I think about my beloved friend Paula Vento and how she transformed herself and even completed a mini-triathalon before she passed away. I hope to inspire people just as she did in her daily commitment to herself, and it's in her amazing spirit and name that I dedicate my training and run in October. I miss you my friend. Thank you for being my inspiration!

Paula & me

Batter Up!

Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the park,
Buy me some shriiimp chips and shaved ice,
I don't care if I never have rice.
So it's jia-yio, jia-yio for the Lions,
If they don't win it's a shame.
Cuz it's one! two! three strikes you're zai-jian...
At the old ball game!

Professional baseball in Taiwan feels more like an MLB training camp game. People who are really tied emotionally to the team or to a particular player go all-out crazy cheering for their idol! There are noisemakers, horns, bass drums, taiko drums, tubas, trumpets, trombones! Cheers are woven together and are fun to listen to even if I can't make out all that they are saying!

There are no cracker jacks here in the stadium, but a wide assortment of shaved milk-ice, noodle stands, and favorite Taiwanese chips and snacks.

A walk down memory lane - two of my favorites growing up in Taiwan!

 One of the fans who found out we were from the States asked me what are the major differences between baseball in the two countries. The biggest difference is how so very inexpensive it is to go to a game in Taiwan. The best seats (field level baseline seats) cost us 300NT (approximately $10) per ticket. Snacks there average $2 (ice cream sandwiches at the Big A in Anaheim run $6/each).

What a great evening, steaming in humidity and 86-degree weather, cheering on our very own Ryan Edell. Ryan is a left-handed pitcher and a personal hero of my boys. He is such a talented and kind ball player, but more importantly, he is an amazing, giving, loving friend. We were beaming and smiling ear to ear with each pitch Ryan threw. So very proud of what he's creating here in Taiwan!

A fun tradition for the 7-Eleven Lions is that each time a player hits a home run, the team throws up a stuffed doll in celebration. Micah caught a hold of one of these dolls that night, and the minute the doll was in his possession, he screamed, "GET BACK" to all the kids rushing at his direction and immediately curled into a ball (kind of reminded me of an armadillo).

So we are committed to creating amazing experiences for all of us. While it's still a void in my heart from being away from home, it's moments like this evening and all the events leading up to that which makes the sacrifices worthwhile.  A favorite photo from this day is below - a picture that captures the reason we are 6,500 miles away from our home - my hubby - and all the support system that eagerly await our return. We love each and every one of you!!

A Bit of Normalcy

Never thought I'd weep at the sight of a salad bar, but I did today. There is some comfort in knowing the ingredients in my meal, and today's meal was very measurable - salad, soup, steak, fish, vegetables.

Glorious salad!

French Onion soup & garlic bread

Typical entrance to the subway.

Yes, the Taiwanese does throw a little twist in the way a steak dinner is prepared, but I welcomed the familiar juices of a medium rare filet paired with sweet roasted carrots.

And of course, in a city where public transportation is the only way to travel, it's not uncommon to walk 15-20,000 steps a day. The boys and I avoid the escalators and target steps as often as we can to balance out our meals!  ;)

Stinky Tofu, Pigs' Blood Cake, and so much more...

Imagine a four-foot-wide pathway, people packed moving in a single-file line, their heads bobbing left and right to take in the carts that line each side of the path, with a myriad of scents and sounds filling the air! This in a nutshell, is the notorious Taiwanese Night Market.

There are many many night markets around town, some more famous than others. One constant is that the foods are unusual (to us Americans) and cheap cheap cheap!

 Marinated duck heads, wings, legs, entrails...yum!

Time to eat!

 Every night market will have at least one STINKY TOFU vendor. And when I say it's stinky, it IS stinky!

 Love how the sausage lady has her ipod on and is jamming to the beat!

 Raw chicken hearts, kidneys, and liver on a skewer. You choose what you want, and they'll grill and season it for you on the spot!

 The black blocks are a very famous Taiwanese snack - Pig Blood Cake. Pig's blood is mixed with rice and cut into coagulated cakes. The most famous way of preparing this is to steam the skewer and then cover it with peanut powder, cilantro and soy sauce paste.

Eat up!!

And They're Off!!!

This is our first year registering the boys for official "summer school" here in Taiwan. We opted to go with 國語日報, aka Mandarin Daily News (a Taiwan institution for providing newspapers for school-aged children, similar to Scholastic back in the States). Apparently, so did the rest of the world, including a boy from Jonah's elementary school back in Arcadia!

The hallways were jam packed with children of the United Nations. I saw dads wearing yarmulkes, moms conversing in Spanish, children speaking Italian, and dogs wearing kilts. It took no more than 10 minutes before the children realized that all of them shared one common thread - their ability to speak English. So of course, that was all anyone could hear - English being screamed in between the laughter as boys and girls begin their innate ability to make friends in strange environments.

Everyday, the boys will attend 1.5 hours of language and 1.5 hours of Chinese cultural art. One of my compliments to the Taiwanese culture is their school art projects. The end products are always so very cool. Today, Micah worked with clay sculpturing while Jonah worked with straws. Their end products were adorable Pokemon & Totoro characters and a seal made out of a single straw. Ahhh-mazing!

Both boys are making friends, and Micah's raised the interest of a cute half-Italian, half-Chinese gal from Italy. Mom is quickly teaching him that when a girl says hello, as a dude, he should always be courteous and respond. It's never too early to lay the foundation to treating girls with respect and care!
Definitely a two-thumbs up day all around!

Food Glorious Food...

The number of shops and restaurants here in Taipei makes Manhattan look like a deserted island. As if the storefronts were not enough, there are so many underground plazas and shopping centers just riddled with food courts with such culinary depth that we would have to spend days in each plaza just to enjoy all that there is to offer.  Here are just a snippet (which equals about 14% of the total number of restaurants within the food court) of the choices we can encounter in just one food court.

One of my favorite desserts: silken tofu, baby tapioca, peanuts cooked tender, all served with some simple syrup and ice!

A complete meal that costs 110NT (about $4).

Because bacon makes everything better.

A whole stand dedicated to fish cakes!

My consolation is that there is plenty of opportunities to walk in Taipei AND there is a gym in my complex! Now, if only I could fit through the door!